


(just find who you love through) true love's kiss

by Katbelle



Series: enchanted [1]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Daredevil (TV), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alien Technology, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Magic, Multi, True Love, True Love's Kiss
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-10-30
Updated: 2015-10-30
Packaged: 2018-04-28 20:36:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5104916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katbelle/pseuds/Katbelle
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Foggy gets stuck with a magical bracelet - though it might be alien, we just don't know, or maybe it's both? - that's supposed to help him find his True Love by not getting off until he finds it. It's very inconvenient and all fault of Matt's. Somehow. Most certainly. Thank God the bracelet's pretty, at the least.</p><p><em>"A metal bracelet will tell him that." Jessica's voice is full of disdain, it's music to Foggy's ears. "And how exactly is he supposed to go checking, hmm?"</em> </p><p>
  <em>"True Love's Kiss," Luke says suddenly. Four heads turn to him and one only slightly in his direction. "True Love's Kiss can break any curse, or that's what <em>Once</em> tells me."</em>
</p>
            </blockquote>





	(just find who you love through) true love's kiss

**Author's Note:**

> Written for [this prompt](http://daredevilkink.dreamwidth.org/5006.html?thread=10602894#cmt10602894) over at the kinkmeme.
> 
> Includes blink-and-you-miss-it spoilers for this week's AoS.

**(find who you love through) true love's kiss**

It would be much better if this was some sort of an Avengers-related incident, because then he'd at least get the perk of meeting Earth's mightiest heroes. But no. Of course not. That'd be too nice. Too easy. That would require the Universe to throw him a bone for a change and that was hardly going to happen.

As usual in this type of situations, his immediate thought was: _at least Matt's not dying_. Because that's what his life's been reduced to. Being zen about every single disaster because hey, at least Murdock's not dead.

So the fact that it's somewhat Matt's fault makes him doubly pissed.

Well. Okay. _Fine._ The only part of this whole disaster that's Matt's fault is the fact that he kind of sort of befriended this idiot by proxy. Foggy's told him it was a bad idea. Anyone who's painfully white and blond, wears green-and-gold spandex and calls himself the 'master of kung-fu' is a bad idea. So of course said idiot and Foggy's idiot hit it off immediately, because they're both idiots, but of completely polar charges, so there was attraction between them from the moment Jessica Jones (full disclaimer here, from all of Matt's weird superhero friends Foggy likes her the most) introduced them.

Foggy's not exactly sure how _he_ was introduced to Danny Rand, but he _was_. And apparently Danny liked him enough to tell Matt that he could drag Foggy along to Danny's party, which is how Foggy's found himself at Danny's in the first place and how we go back to the beginning, to this being somewhat Matt's fault and of no relation to the Avengers and still not as bad as Matt dead.

The last one might change quickly if they don't fix this mess, though, and Foggy'll strangle the idiot himself.

"We could try cutting it off," Danny suggests, because he's the least helpful douchebag ever.

"With what?" Jessica asks, her arms crossed on her chest. She has one brow arched and is glaring at Danny. Boy, if Foggy were him, he'd be running for the hills already. 

Danny waves his hand. Flails them uselessly. "My porter probably has something. A saw?"

"You want to cut off his hand too? Jesus fuck, Daniel."

"I think we should go to the hospital," Matt says quietly from where he's seated on the couch next to Foggy. He's glaring at the empty space about five centimeters above Foggy's wrist while his hands trace the pattern on the surface of the metal.

"This is probably pretty low on the list of the weirdest things people got stuck on them," Foggy jokes. He has to crack a joke — if he doesn't, he'll start screaming and that'd be very, very bad.

He glances at his wrist. The bracelet stuck there is made of a very tasteful dark gray metal. There is a pattern etched on it, some sort of lines and small dots or circles. It's actually pretty nice, the kind of thing Foggy could consider getting for himself. So. It could have been worse. He should consider himself lucky that it was a beautiful piece of jewellery that jumped him and clasped itself onto his wrist. It could have been something tacky, but it wasn't. Clearly it's a win.

"Colleen says she's never heard of anything like that," Luke tells them when he gets off Danny's balcony. He pockets his phone and shrugs. "Dunno, man."

"Where the fuck did you even get this shit?" Jessica asks and really, Foggy might be a little bit in love with her. She's like the always grumpy and swearing ying to his bright and helpful yang.

"I got this on my last trip to China." Danny shrugs. "It'd attract my true love, that's what the shopkeeper said."

"Are you sure it's what she said?" Matt asks. "You're positive you didn't mess up the translation?"

"Of the two of us," Danny gestures between them, "which one _can_ speak Mandarin?"

"But not well enough to take off a magical bracelet," Jessica mutters and yup, definitely in love with her.

Luke snaps his fingers. "Magical," he says. "That's it. Danny-o, what's the name of that wizard that we know, you know, the one from the Village..."

"Doctor Strange?"

"Yes!" Luke snaps his fingers two more times. "That's the guy. Strange. Won't he be able to help?"

"I don't know," Danny sighs. Foggy feels the sudden urge to punch him. "I'll give him a call."

***

Doctor Strange comes over in fifteen minutes after Danny finishes his call. He looks nothing like Foggy imagined based on Luke's line about him being a wizard; he's wearing a tailored suit, looks to be in his thirties and has cheekbones that Foggy's sure are physically impossible. Oh, and he's not a wizard, he's a _sorcerer_.

And his name is Stephen.

Seriously. There's a thirty-something sorcerer living in New York and his name is _Stephen Strange_.

It's ridiculous.

It's as if Foggy's life has suddenly turned into the plot of a bad comic book.

Doctor Strange hums when he notices Foggy and Matt huddled on Danny's sofa. He takes a chair and sits down in front of Foggy, and begins his careful examination of the bracelet. He hums some more when he turns Foggy's hand palm-up. He makes appreciative sound when he thumbs the motif on the bracelet, and Foggy feels a prickle of anticipation.

Bad comic book or not, the guy looks focused and also like he knows what he's doing. Foggy's never been this close to magic — that is to say, up until fifteen minutes ago he didn't even think magic existed.

"And?" Matt snaps finally, after deciding that Doctor Strange's humming has gone on for too long.

"Well," Doctor Strange wets his lips, "it's not magic."

Danny's face, hopeful until this point, falls. "It's not magic?" Doctor Strange shakes his head. "But it clasped itself onto his wrist."

"Obviously," Doctor Strange says slowly and fuck, has he been this smug since he entered or is this a new development?

"If it's not magic, what is it?" Matt asks and he also doesn't look too fond of the good sorcerer. Doctor. Is his title even a real one? 

"Alien," Doctor Strange says and Foggy feels as if the sofa was yanked from under his butt. "If something's not science and not magic, it's _always_ alien."

"Alien," Jessica repeats dubiously. "As in — Asgardian?"

"I doubt it," Doctor Strange says. "I'm a sorcerer, not an expert in alien technology, but I do know people who specialise in that. I'll give them a call for you." He turns to Danny. "You say you've bought it in China?"

Danny nods. "At a local flea market in the Hunan province. I was told it'd attract my true love."

"Are you sure you didn't mistranslate?"

Danny pouts. "I didn't. The shopkeeper said," and here Danny quotes whatever it was that the shopkeeper has told him. Doctor Strange nods grimly while Jessica and Luke exchange confused glances. It's good to know they understand as much as Foggy does, which is nothing.

"Ah," Doctor Strange says once Danny is done. He glances at Foggy again and this time it's a look full of pity. "You didn't mistranslate it, but the true meaning escaped you. I think I know the purpose of this."

"You know what this does?" Matt asks and sounds so goddamn _hopeful_ , Jesus, poor guy. Cannot see the pitying look Doctor Strange's currently sporting so of course he's gonna sound hopeful.

"Yes." Doctor Strange seats himself opposite Foggy again. "Daniel here translated the shopkeeper's words as 'attract' his true love. Which is a fine translation, albeit I'd favour 'bring forth' over 'attract' myself. However, Daniel's lack of knowledge of the region and its history has led him to misunderstand the words."

"Misunderstand how?" Danny pouts.

"For centuries, the Hunan province has been the home of a group of people, 'descendants of angels' they were called. They were only willing to marry with those alike them, but it was a difficult task to find them. I believe this," Doctor Strange points to the bracelet, "was supposed to help them choose. So while Daniel's translation is not faulty, the shopkeeper meant that this device would _find_ his true love."

"How is a junky piece of metal supposed to find anyone's true love?" Jessica asks, because Jessica is Foggy's favourite person now, the wonderful and level-headed Jessica.

"It was clasped onto his wrist, so it can unclasp," Doctor Strange says and he's just as unhelpful as Danny. "I believe it'll release him once he finds his true love. That's how it'll tell him who that is."

"A metal bracelet will tell him that." Jessica's voice is full of disdain, it's music to Foggy's ears. "And how exactly is he supposed to go checking, hmm?"

"True Love's Kiss," Luke says suddenly. Four heads turn to him and one only slightly in his direction. "True Love's Kiss can break any curse, or that's what _Once_ tells me."

"I don't even know what that is," Jessica says at the same time when Doctor Strange sighs: "This is not magic."

Luke shrugs. "Magic is the science we don't yet understand," he tells everyone in the tone of a friendly reminder. "Alien tech is _definitely_ science we don't yet understand."

"Wait," Foggy says. It's high time he's said something, the shock of this all is starting to wear off, after all. " _Wait._ Are you suggesting... Are you suggesting that I start going around and kissing people in the hopes that I'll find my 'True Love'," he makes the air quotes here, no joke, "and this thing will fall off?"

"It does sound ridiculous when you put it that way," Luke admits, "but essentially, yeah."

"We're too sober to deal with this," Danny says and that's the first smart thing he's said the entire evening.

" _Great._ " Foggy rolls his eyes at Luke. "So who do you suggest I kiss first?"

***

Danny, is the answer, apparently.

He's just feeling guilty for getting this thing on Foggy, is the main reason.

***

"I can kiss you," Jessica says and Foggy's insides summersault.

"You cannot kiss him," Luke says and Matt makes an approving sound.

"I can kiss whomever the fuck I want, Luke, you're not my boss."

Luke shakes his head. "I mean, you can't be his true love. You're _my_ true love."

"True love doesn't have to be reciprocated," Doctor Strange says.

"Of course it does!" Danny bristles. "What kind of a true love lets you suffer in loneliness?"

"It's _true_ love, Danny, not _mutual_ ," Jessica points out. "Sorry, Nelson." Foggy waves a hand dismissively. "So. I can kiss you. For science and greater good."

***

Jessica turns out to be a great kisser. Really. If Foggy loved himself less and had a worse opinion of Luke Cage, he might have fallen in love with her for real. As it is, he loves her, dearly, because she's the best and also the one with the most self-preservation instinct, which is something Matt sorely needs. If he can't have any himself, he'll at least have Jessica by his side.

***

"I'm not kissing you, man," Luke says. "Respect and all, but I'm not kissing you. You're a _Hellions_ fan."

"This love would be doomed from the start," Foggy deadpans.

***

Stephen Strange, on the other hand, is an utterly _crap_ kisser.

"Still too sober for that," Danny decides.

***

Between the kissing and the drinking, they get too drunk to function, so they just fall down in a pile on the floor of Danny's penthouse.

"You think," Jessica asks, "you think that if this stays on for long enough you'll get to kiss Captain America?"

Foggy and, surprisingly, Danny giggle while Matt lets out a disturbed and very unhappy whine.

Huh, that.

***

Karen wheedles the story from him the next day and his horrible hangover is to blame. That and his tasteful new accessory, which is what caught Karen's attention in the first place and prompted her to cross-examine him.

"A true love finder, huh?" she asks, admiring the bracelet. "Could use one of those myself."

"Absolutely not," Foggy says. "It's awful. Very tight. Cuts off blood circulation. Seriously, when I woke up today I thought my hand's fallen off. Couldn't feel it _at all_."

"But on the other hand..." Karen shrugs. "It'll eventually tell you with whom you're supposed to spend the rest of your life."

"True love doesn't mean it's reciprocated, Karen," Matt points out, because with Danny not here, someone had to take over the Unhelpful Douchebag role.

Karen looks at him questioningly and Foggy nods. "That's true love according to our resident specialist Doctor Stephen Strange."

"Strange," Karen says and manages not to laugh, though the corners of her mouth tremble. "Didn't he say he's not actually a specialist, though?"

"Said he knows people who are. Said he'd call them."

"I hope they come soon and take this thing off before you have to snog half of New York," Karen says with a smile.

It's that 'snog' — who even uses that word? — that prompts him to ask, "Hey Karen, wanna snog?"

She laughs heartily at that, but does lean in to kiss him. It's a sweet kiss that somehow turns into a whole making out session. Foggy wonders, briefly, if that's how their little date at Elena's would have ended if not for the bombs.

When they part for air eventually, they're both smiling. "It's not weird, is it?" Foggy asks and Karen — beautiful, amazing Karen — shakes her head with a smile. No, it's not weird. But it's also not something he'd like a repeat of, he realises.

The bracelet stubbornly stays on.

***

He goes out for drinks with Marci in the evening. And when she presses him to her apartment door later that night and he cannot hear a _clink!_ of metal hitting her wooden floor, he can only think _thank God_.

***

"So, it's not Marci?" Karen asks the next morning. She takes a piece of paper from her desk, a pencil, and crosses something out. It's a list, he realises. A list of the people Karen thinks he should kiss. The potential loves of his life. Marci's there, of course, predictable. But so is Danny Rand, surprisingly, what the hell, Karen. Oh, and Claire's there too. Claire? Wait. Does Karen even know Claire? How does Karen know Claire?

"Thank God it's not Marci," Foggy says. "I love her too much to wish her to be my true love."

"You realise that that statement makes zero sense," Matt calls out from his office. Karen smirks. Oh. Having her figure out their little big secret was the best thing that's happened to the office.

"It makes perfect sense!" Foggy says. "I love Marci. She's amazing, she's fun, we have fun together. I wouldn't want her to be my true love because then all those qualities that I love about her would get muddled with romance and domesticity and maybe I'd grow tired of it."

"He does have a point," Karen admits.

"No, he doesn't," Matt argues. Foggy wonders if he's arguing just for the sake of arguing, since the last case of theirs that didn't end with an out-of-court settlement was almost two months ago. Matt appears in the doorway of his office. "If you truly loved someone, you would never grow tired of them. Of being with them. It'd be amazing and fun every single day, because it'd be _them_."

"Aww," Karen coos. "I didn't know you were such a romantic at heart."

"And I didn't know you two were so cynical."

Foggy shrugs. "Well, no one's perfect."

***

The specialists Doctor Strange mentioned turn out to be a bunch of loser-ly looking people from SHIELD. And they ambush him in his own kitchen, for God's sake, how did Strange even know where he lives? Oh, wait. SHIELD. SHIELD knows everything. Shit, does that mean they also know about Matt? About Daredevil?

"It definitely has the Kree markings on the surface," a young scientist, Scottish-sounding, says.

"There is no opening on it, it's sealed closed," a second one, English-sounding woman, chips in. "Fitz, I think Doctor Strange's theory, albeit strange, might have some value."

"But how does it work?" Fitz wonders. "Do you think it's looking for genetic markers in the potential partner's saliva to determine whether or not they carry the Inhuman gene?"

"Perhaps," the woman nods. "That'd explain its connection to the story. The Inhumans in the Hunan province tended to marry with others carrying the gene to protect it."

"But how does it work for a non-Inhuman?" Fitz wonders. "You're not an Inhuman, are you?" he asks Foggy.

"I have no idea what you mean," Foggy admits.

"He's not an Inhuman," a second woman, a petite brunette in a tactical suit, notes. "He wasn't one before the Terrigen contamination and if he were a new one, we'd know. Or ATCU would know, but then he wouldn't be here."

"But he might have simply not come into contact with the Terrigen yet," the English argues.

"We'd have to take him back to the lab," Fitz concludes.

The brunette rolls her eyes. "Fine," she says. "We'll take him. I'll tell Coulson, you pack him up."

***

Which they do. Pack him up and take him to their lab in their super secret base. He's allowed one call once on board their plane so he calls Matt, tells him not to worry and that he's with Doctor Strange's specialist people.

He hopes they really are specialists, anyway.

***

"I don't think you're an Inhuman," Fitz informs him after two days and a million tests done both on the blood sample he's told them they can take and on the bracelet. "It's impossible that, living in New York City, you haven't come into contact with the Terrigen yet. Terrigenesis didn't occur so you're not an Inhuman. The question is, then, how will the bracelet work on a regular human. Will its purpose be different now or will it still seek out the most compatible partner?"

"Doctor Strange seems to think that kissing random people in search of a true love is the way to go," Foggy jokes.

"I fear he might be right," Fitz says, completely serious. "We can't take it off forcibly. You'll have to wait for it to come off on its own."

"And if I don't find my true love? There are over seven billion people on this planet, it might take a while to kiss them all."

Fitz shrugs. "Then it might not come off at all. It's not a health hazard, Simmons and Bobbi checked that. Prolonged wear isn't dangerous."

"Simmons." The English scientist. "She's your true love?" Fitz's head snaps up. "I've noticed the way you look at her when she isn't looking at you. Frankly, I think everyone here noticed."

"She is," Fitz admits. It sounds as if it was torn from him. "I don't think I'm hers, though."

"True love doesn't have to be reciprocated." There goes love advice according to Stephen Strange. He should really write a self-help book.

"That's what makes it true," Fitz says. "When you love someone who doesn't love you back, that's the truest and most selfless love of all."

***

"I love him," Simmons concludes. "I do. It's just--complicated. There's always something, something in the way. Maybe we're meant to love each other but never be together? No. No, I can't believe that. I can't believe the Universe could be so cruel to him."

"And you're telling me this why...?"

"Because I'm doing this for science. You can kiss someone, and you can even be _in love_ with them without _loving_ them. And I kissed Will, and I am in love with him, but I also love Fitz, I never for a second stopped loving Fitz. So I can kiss you for science, and I can even be in love with Will, and still love Fitz."

"You don't have to kiss me for science."

She does kiss him for science.

***

Bobbi's husband (ex-husband? partner? boyfriend? Foggy's not clear on that one) is apparently an idiot of the same epic proportions as Matt. They'd get along splendidly. As payback for something Hunter's done, Bobbi comes into the lab, grabs him by the lapels and kisses the hell out of him, for the kicks and to mess with Hunter.

With some surprise, Foggy discovers that Hunter's way of dealing with Bobbi's shit ideas is exactly the same.

***

"We'll be taking you home in an hour," Daisy tells him on Day Three of his little SHIELD lab holiday. "There's a new Inhuman in Jersey City, ATCU doesn't know yet, we need to move quickly. So you'll hitch a ride with me and Mack."

"Oh. Super. _Great._ "

So far the trip to the secret base's been wasted. Fitz and Simmons' tests proved nothing and were overall inconclusive, there was no way to take this thing off without seriously injuring his hand and forearm, and some consultant named Randolph said not to even try, under no circumstances are you to try.

Mack offered to fuck the advice and try anyway.

"I have a favour to ask," Daisy says, startling him out of his thoughts. "Once you get back home, could you..."

She bits her lip. Foggy waits patiently for her to continue and when she doesn't, prompts, "Could I what?"

"Could you tell Matt that Mary Sue said 'hi'?" she asks eventually.

Foggy blinks. "Matt?"

"Yes, Matt." She rolls her eyes. "Matt, Matt Murdock, your partner, best friend, whatever. Murdock, Matt, that guy. Tell him that Mary Sue said 'hi' and that she's fine, she's doing great, he didn't have to worry, it turned out for the best."

He blinks again. "Yeah, sure, just--Who's Mary Sue? And how do you know Matt?"

"Thank you," Daisy says with a smile, "and that's none of your business."

***

Daisy kisses him goodbye, just a tiniest peck of lips, and then grins when nothing happens.

"Couldn't allow you to walk away thinking 'damn, that could have been her'."

He wouldn't — she's like what, barely nineteen? — but he grins back.

***

"What about Debbie?" Karen asks two weeks later.

Foggy sighs and rubs the skin just above his wrist and the goddamn bracelet on it. Maybe it's not a health hazard and he wasn't going to die because of it, but it was getting annoying. He wanted to be able to put on his watch again. To feel the air on the skin. To feel the water. To have Matt grabs his wrist when he wanted him to pay attention.

"Debbie Harris?"

"Debbie Harris," Karen confirms. "She was your high school sweetheart, wasn't she?"

"She was," Foggy admits, "and that'd be the saddest thing ever, to find out she's my one true love a decade after we broke up and three years after she got married."

But maybe not as sad as jokingly asking a barista and the pizza delivery guy for a kiss and having one person give it to him with a laugh and having the second try to poison him. He's fairly sure they tried to poison him.

"Okay, what about... Glorianna O'Breen?" Karen looks up from her laptop — on which she's going through Foggy's Facebook friends list — with a confused expression on her face. "You actually know someone named Glorianna?"

"She was an exchange student from Ireland when I was a junior in high school. Long story."

"Your true love could be on the other side of the world," Karen teases. Then she sobers up. "Oh God, your true love could be on the other side of the world."

"Or they could be just next door."

"You kissed your next-door neighbour, it didn't work," Matt reminds him. "Karen, it's late, you should go. We'll close today."

"Okay." Karen shuts her laptop and takes her coat. "Don't worry, we'll find the bastard. Lucky bastard."

"And if not I'll just keep this fancy accessory," Foggy shakes his hand. "Seriously, it's growing on me. I think I'll miss it if I ever get rid of it."

Karen laughs all the way out of the building.

"How about we hit Josie's and I try to con Josie into kissing me again?" Foggy asks, only half joking. Matt has a peculiar, determined expression on his face that Foggy now associates with his full-on Daredevil mode.

Oh, great. He'll go backflipping into the night any moment now.

"Will you?" Matt asks instead of backflipping out of the closest window. "Miss it?"

"Well, no," Foggy admits, "but I've got it for now, so it's better to look at the positives."

"Which are?"

"It's pretty, for one."

Matt hmms and takes a hold of Foggy's wrist. His thumb runs along the lines of the pattern. "Describe it."

"It's a very dark metal, like stephanite. Black silver," he explains, seeing the confusion on Matt's face. "The pattern is barely visible, very tasteful, I've gotta give it to the Kree. It looks like something you'd buy at Fashion Week for big money, so really, I lucked out. I even kind of like it, it goes great with my skin tone."

Matt hmms again. "Then I'm sorry."

"For what?"

The answer to that becomes apparent a second later when Matt — not letting go of Foggy's wrist — leans in and kisses him.

The kiss is... Soft. Very chaste, just a press of Matt's lips to his. Matt has chapped lips, so it's a bit scratchy. Foggy's seen him kiss people before, but this is nothing like that, there's nothing of that heat. This is just soft. Scratchy, but soft, does that even make sense, Foggy wonders, when suddenly Matt lets go of his wrist. And _then_ he hears a _clink!_ of metal hitting the floor and feels a gush of air over the skin of his wrist and _what the fuck_.

"What the fuck?" he voices that thought when Matt finally stops kissing him all chastely and innocently. And really, Foggy's kissed a lot of people in his life and this kiss? Not even in the Top 10. Probably wouldn't even make it to the Top 20, to be perfectly honest.

"You've kissed every single person we know in the past three weeks," and that's a nice exaggeration there, Murdock, "and it never once occurred to you to maybe try and kiss _me_."

And that's... That's a ridiculous thought to even entertain, because this is Matt, his best friend Matt, this is _Matt_ for God's sake, he didn't think about kissing Matt, why would he even think about kissing Matt, why would he--

What makes it past his brain-to-mouth filter and past his lips is, "Why would I?" 

Matt takes a step back. He huffs and nods, and Foggy can't quite make out the face he makes now, but he thinks it's sad. "Yeah. Why would you."

He takes his cane and moves past Foggy and towards the door. "Matt..."

He does stop, pauses with his hand on the door handle. There's at least that. "Goodnight, Foggy. I'll see you tomorrow. Don't forget about the Sanderson briefing first thing in the morning."

And he's out through the door and out of the office, and Foggy is left alone with a piece of alien metal lying uselessly on the floor.

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from "True Love's Kiss" from Enchanted.

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [to spend a life (of endless bliss)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/5123249) by [Katbelle](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Katbelle/pseuds/Katbelle)




End file.
